CLASSIC LEGEND TIMES

Transcription

1 NORTHERN CHAPTER H.O.G. CLASSIC LEGEND TIMES Volume 13 Issue 6 June, 2007 NORTHERN CHAPTER STEPS OUT TO PROVIDE A GOOD SHOWING IN HONOR OF OUR VETERANS AT MEMORIAL GARDENS CEMETERY Lew Widrig (a veteran) took time to explain to the chapter members the importance of Memorial Day. 30+ bikes attend the Memorial Day ceremonies THE SEASON S FIRST HOUSE BBQ OUR HOSTS: VINCE AND JANA O BRIEN WHEN: Saturday, June 30th TIME: 4:00 PM WHERE: 6116 SHADY SHORES, LAKE ANN DIRECTIONS: CALL VINCE AT OR DO MAPQUEST! BURGERS, BRATS, BEANS & POTATO SALAD PROVIDED! BYOB DISH TO PASS IS OPTIONAL! RIDE LEAVES CLASSIC AT 3:00 PM JUNE 8TH, 9TH AND 10TH THERE IS A LARGE GROUP ATTENDING THE BAY MILLS THUNDERFEST! MEETING TIME: FRIDAY, 9AM PLACE: ELK HARBOR RESTAURANT, US-31, ELK RAPIDS KICKSTANDS UP AROUND 10-10:30 FOR BRIMLEY!

2 Northern Chapter H.O.G. Officers Director: Paul Jarboe Asst. Director/Fr. Fred Benefit: John Lefler Asst. Director/Past Director: Bob Oliverius Secretary: Kris VanDeusen Treasurer: Lew Kirchner Activities Officer: Jamie Rierson New Member Liaison: Eric Fischer X 621 eric@classictc.com LOH Officer: Kim Lefler heavyroller2002@yahoo.com Editor: Deb Emanuel eman9069@charter.net Safety Director: Tom Whilden tcwilde@aol.com Membership Officer: Vicki Beam vbeam@bignetnorth.net Road Captain: Brian Zionskowski toomanytoys@hotmail.com Photographer & Historian: Suzanne Jarboe suzqtc@charter.net Jeanette Sherman gdsherman@centurytel.com Paula Mack harleywoodacres@charter.net Webmaster: Mark Winn pureluck@journey.com Gaming Commissioner: John Emanuel eman9069@charter.net Public Relations Officer: Mike Cole j701@freeway.net A NOTE FROM YOUR DIRECTOR COME ON DOWN HOME! Join thousands of H.O.G. members from around the country (and around the world!) in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains for CLUB H.O.G. DOWN HOME, August 24-25, Also known as the 24 th Annual Rally, this enduring event is one of the most meaningful of all H.O.G. traditions not to mention one of the most fun and exciting! This year, Knoxville, Tennessee will play host to the festivities. Located on the banks of the Tennessee River, this inviting city provides the perfect balance of urban excitement and down home Southern hospitality. And, with mile after mile of incredible riding in every direction (and Great Smoky Mountains National Park just a stone s throw away), you ll want to take your time getting there and heading home. At the rally, the destination rides will be planned by those who know the area best local H.O.G. members. Several of our Northern Chapter members are already planning to attend this annual H.O.G. event how about if you plan to join them? Here s just a taste of what Chilhowee Park will have to offer... RALLY HIGHLIGHTS Knoxville Parade of Harleys : A 7.5-mile rolling spectacle through the streets of Knoxville, led by the traditional Chapter Parade of Flags. In addition, if you pre-register by July 1, you ll be entered in a random drawing to ride in the Parade of Harleys. Town Hall Meetings and H-D Service Seminars: Your chance to meet and talk with Harley-Davidson executives as they field questions from H.O.G. members at the H.O.G. Amphitheater. Company technicians will also be on hand, leading three different service seminars on timely topics you won t want to miss. The Magnatta Collection: Straight from the pages of Hog Tales magazine, Ohio H.O.G. members Steve and Suzanne Magnatta will display select items from their amazing collection of Harley-Davidson dealer memorabilia. Harley-Davidson and Buell Demo Rides: Try out all the new rides including 2008 Anniversary Models. Harley-Davidson Traveling Museum: Newly remodeled and better than ever. Riding faster than anyone else only guarantees that you ll ride alone! Stunt Zone: Now running all day long for your maximum stunting pleasure, with three drill teams and two motorcycle stunt teams. Biker Mania Vendor Mall: Lots of independent merchants on site offering great motorcycle-related items, souvenirs, and shipping services. (Continued on Page 9) Page 2 CLASSIC LEGEND TIMES

3 Page 3 NORTHERN CHAPTER H.O.G. FYI PAGE Keeping an eye on what s happening around us! June 8th and 9th BAY MILLS THUNDERFEST, Brimley June 8th and 9th GRAND TRAVERSE BIKE GET AWAY June 16th-MICHIGAN S LITTLE FINGER POKER RUN June 24th BIKE BLESSING, ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH (2pm) June 30th CELEBRATION OF LIFE RIDE June 30th COAST GUARD FESTIVAL, Grand Haven July 4th TRAVERSE CITY 4TH OF JULY PARADE July 6th, 7th & 8th IONIA RENDEZVOUS July 21st and 22nd (Saturday-Sunday) FATHER FRED BENEFIT August 11th MOTORCYCLE RODEO, INTERLOCHEN EAGLES August 19th ANNUAL VFW HALL September 8th TC PAINTBALL COMPETITION SUNDAES ON SUNDAY New weekly event to be held at Culver s, Traverse City, starting Sunday, May 6th, and running every Sunday through September! Ride leaves Classic at 5:00 pm Bring your bike for display between the hours of 6-8pm, sign in, and receive a free Sundae from the folks at Culvers! THUNDER RUN POKER RUN JUNE 30TH GRAND HAVEN, MI Anyone interested in participating in the Thunder Run on Saturday, June 30th, can contact Brent Windemuller at or brentinsp@hotmail.com. A NOTE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIP OFFICER, VICKI BEAM The Membership Directory will be available to all members approximately June 8th. If you haven t had your picture taken for the Directory, see me or Suzanne Jarboe! Any questions? Contact Vicki or mgobluefan2@hotmail.com Thanks! CLASSIC LEGEND TIMES

4 Page 4 NORTHERN CHAPTER HARLEY OWNERS GROUP 2007 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS DAY DATE TIME EVENT DESTINATION Tuesday June 5th 6:00pm Ladies Ride TBA Thursday June 7th 6:30pm Chapter Meeting & Ride Peegeo s Fri.-Sat. June 8th-9th TBA THUNDERFEST Brimley Thursday June 14th 6:30pm Chapter Ride Minerva s Tuesday June 19th 7:00pm Officer s Business Meeting South City Limits Thursday June 21st 6:30pm Chapter Ride Hacienda Vasquez Thursday June 28th 6:30pm Chapter Ride Blue Pelican Saturday June 30th 4:00pm House BBQ Vince O Brien s Tuesday July 3rd 6:00pm Ladies Ride TBA Thursday July 5th 6:30pm Chapter Meeting & Ride Peegeo s Thursday July 12th 6:30pm Chapter Ride Alden Bar Saturday July 14th TBA Chapter Luau Scott/Deb Hocking Tuesday July 17th 7:00pm Officer s Business Meeting South City Limits Sat./Sun July 21st-22nd Father Fred Ride Traverse City Thursday July 26th 6:30pm Chapter Ride House of Dogs Thursday Aug. 2nd 6:30pm Chapter Meeting & Ride Peegeo s Saturday Aug. 4th TBA PUTT-PUTT Ride Tuesday Aug. 7th 6:00pm Ladies Ride TBA Thursday Aug. 9th 6:30pm Chapter Ride Friendly s Thursday Aug. 16th 6:30pm Chapter Ride Saturday Aug. 19th Chapter Ride-Annual Picnic VFW-Traverse City Tuesday Aug. 21st 7:00pm Officer s Business Meeting South City Limits Note: Meeting time for Thursday Chapter Rides during summer season is 6:30 pm, and expected arrival time at predetermined destination will be approximately 7:30 pm. All rides start at Classic Motor Sports. Be advised that all events are subject to change, so dial Classic at (Ext 8) for up-to-date news.

5 TWO SENIOR WILD HOGS BY: JIM DOW AND DICK RUSAS (Continued from May Newsletter) That evening Jim and Dick met and had dinner with one of Jim s old golfing buddies who winters in Palm Springs on one of those famous golf courses surrounded by the rich and famous. A great lifestyle, if of that persuasion. But, we re in to riding! The next day our trip takes us East on I-10 through the desert of southern California. We take a short detour in Chiriaco Summit to visit the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum. It s an inspiring reminder of the legacy of General Patton and the men who trained here to fight in WWII. Continuing East on I-10 into Arizona, we had originally planned to meet with Darrell and Marty Huschke in Paradise Valley located outside Phoenix. However, due to Darrell contacting a serious bout of Montezuma s Revenge down in Mexico, he was too sick to entertain us and be our guide in southern Arizona. We wished him well and a speedy recovery. So, in order to miss the traffic around Phoenix, we headed south on Highway 85 to Gila Bend for the night. This being the desert, Jim is constantly on the lookout for his favorite creature, the Roadrunner. No luck. Never saw a live one skittering across the barren waste of desert. The next morning we re up early to head around Tucson down to Green Valley. The riding down here improves from arid desert to high desert, which has rugged rolling hills and somewhat sparse growth of small trees and shrubbery. The highways, not having to deal with the winter freeze and heaving, are silky smooth with narrey a pothole or tarred seam. As for the Southwestern and Mexican inspired food, it s delicious, hot and somewhat discomforting for our northern bellies. But, do those margaritas go down smoothly. To share all this, we meet with John and Jackie Zimmerman, the landscaping people from TC, who winter in Green Valley. Spending a few nights allows us to take a couple of day trips. The highlight was over to Tombstone to witness the gunfight at the OK Corral, walk the streets of this historic mining town from the 1880 s, and share stories and laughs with some of the rough cowpoke. Of course, Jim has always been a pseudo cowboy, so he s really in his element. From Tombstone we headed south to Bisbee and the Mexican Port of Entry Naco. Had to get pictures of the Boarder Patrol in action. We must have spotted two dozen Boarder Patrol vehicles between Naco and Nogales. At this juncture, we headed northeast, keeping well to the east of Phoenix. Too bad about Darrell not being able to be our tour guide, but we ll catch him next trip down to Arizona. We take some impressively beautiful roads on the high plateau of the country; Highway 77 to the Coolidge Dam, 188 along the edge of Roosevelt Lake and Tonto River, 87 to Payson and up to Sedona for a couple of nights. Sedona is beautiful, but loaded with what else, tourists! Great accommodations and great food for two weary bike bums. We decide to take a day off and opted for a balloon flight with Northern Light Balloon Expeditions. Talk about a scintillatingly spectacular and truly unique and ultimate flying experience, this was heavenly with a birds-eye view of Sedona and the surrounding russet red and creamy white rock formations and lush green pine and fir forests. Whew! You can t imagine! When we came down to earth and decided to motor up to Jerome, it happened. Dick s bike has been acting up, but now it became critical. So we called the Harley-Davidson dealer in Mayer about 70 miles south of Sedona. Their truck and trailer, with a nice young man, arrived within two hours and we were off for a side visit to another eventful experience. Mayer is a tiny town, surprisingly small to have such a nice Harley-Davidson store. Dick s bike needed a part which they could acquire by the next day, so we checked into the Creekside Resort that had a real cowboy/harley nightclub and restaurant. Real friendly people. The owner is sending Jim a T-Shirt he s having designed in exchange for one of ours from Classic. Jim has already sent him a cool one. Dick s bike was finished by 1pm the next day, so off we went over to Prescott and north on 89A to another one of those old mining towns in Arizona now inhabited by what else, more artists and hippies, Jerome. What a great ride climbing up to Jerome at 7,000 feet elevation on that smooth highway of twisties, roundabouts, and switchbacks. We met a number of other euphorically enthusiastic bikers at a scenic turnout, marveling at the ride and the views. We descended to Cottonwood, proceeding straight through Sedona and up to Flagstaff on that national famous road, Oak Creek Canyon in the Red Rock Mountain Wilderness area. As the sun was beginning to drop in the western sky, the shadows of the red rock outcroppings, peaks, and spires created a mysteriously ghostly effect in the canyon. Fascinatingly beautiful! It s a shame those moments don t last longer. We bunked in Williams for the night and in the AM headed west to Ash Fork, Seligman, and Kingman on the other Mother Road, Route 66. It s rough and not maintained well, but we shared the feelings and memories of the past generations of motorists who traversed this road out to the West Coast. From Kingman it was a straight shot up to the Hoover Dam, very congested, but always an awesome marvel of construction. A new highway and bridge system is being built to ease the traffic flow that should be completed by From Hoover, it was a short shot back to the Dean s in Henderson. We relaxed for a few days, doing laundry, hot tub, depleting Mike s liquor cabinet, meals in and meals out, went to see Wild Hogs, and did few more short trips around Vegas, up to St. George, Utah, to the Valley of Fire and the White Domes. There s still a lot more to see, but it was time to pack up and head back home. We were hoping the snow was gone so we could ride when we arrived back in the Grand Traverse area. It was!!! On the road again, but with the bikes in the trailer, we took the southern route; Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, etc. As we were motoring along at 70, approaching Oklahoma City, boom! It happened! A wild, white pick-em up truck clipped the side of the trailer as it flew past. How Dick held the truck and trailer on the road was a miracle! The white pick-up was long gone Page 5 CLASSIC LEGEND TIMES

6 Page 6 before we rolled to a stop on the shoulder. As we were exiting the truck with hearts in our throats, a small black car pulled up in front of us. A young couple had witnessed the hit, had dodged the fender that flew off of the trailer, but couldn t ID the white pick-up. We called 911 and two hours later a highway patrol officer arrived to make the report, which we ll need for insurance purposes. We were able to drive to El Reno, luckily found a great mechanic the next morning, Saturday, who made the necessary repairs and had us on the road by 11AM, minus the fender on the trailer. We re still breathing sighs of relief. After stopping in Springfield, Illinois, to lunch with friends of Dick s, we made it home by noon on Monday, a month to the day of our departure. It s unfathomable, but we re still talking. Two seniors, pretty well set in their ways, independent, but with a will for adventure, spending ten weeks together (counting Alaska three years ago) still associating with and needling each other with a genuine warmth and camaraderie that will last a lifetime. What s the next DR? Well, we re doing the Posse ride this summer, en masse. THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR MEMORIES WITH THE CHAPTER! LADIES OF HARLEY TRIP TO CHICAGO! Attention Ladies of Harley! Trip to Chicago being planned for the weekend of October 5th thru 7th. Details being ironed out, but it looks like we will catch the early morning train out of Grand Rapids and get back into Grand Rapids late Sunday evening. Plans are to shop, dine, hit the theater and have fun! Anyone interested should contact Vicki Beam directly by phone ( ) or by (mgobluefan2@hotmail.com). MAY CHAPTER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS 4th Annual Progressive Dinner Ride to be held Saturday, May 11th. Cost is $5.00 p/p REMEMBER: Rain or shine, house gatherings will go on if it isn t riding weather it is always DRIVING WEATHER. SUNDAES ON SUNDAYS. Every Sunday night from 6-8 pm throughout the summer, Culvers wll offer free sundaes to all bikes who ride in and sign in. REMINDER: We always ride in a staggered formation during group rides. HOG telephone line for status of rides is , hit #8. MAY BUSINESS MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Due to the large attendance planned for the National Rally in Knoxville, Jamie will look for an alternate date for the Beach Bums game. Annual picnic to be held at the VFW this year on August 19th. They would like to host it for us and the only cost will be for food. Menu will be BBQ chicken, dogs, burgers, and fixings. Drinks can be purchased at the bar inside and the cost is very reasonable. Michael Cole will do a group photo from the rooftop and will have them available for purchase. Music will be provided. Tickets will be sold in advance. This will be a GREAT event! All members are encouraged to attend! LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH THE POKER RUN and REGISTRATON FOR THE FATHER FRED BENEFIT! PLEASE CONTACT JOHN LEFLER AT or at heavyroller2002@yahoo.com AND VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME FOR A WORTHY CAUSE!

7 I stumbled across this article and thought it might provide some food for thought! Another good reason to take safety classes, you can always learn something, even olds dogs like me! Tom Whilden, Safety Officer Page 7 MEAN STREETS. IS EXPERIENCE REALLY THE BEST TEACHER? A couple of weeks ago, I was at a bike gathering at a local Harley dealer when I struck up a conversation with a guy who was taking delivery of a new Harley Ultra. The guy was into his mid-to late-40 s and he tells me he s been riding for 20 years and this was his fourth new Harley. He said he has a 02 Ultra, but some clown turned left in front of him and he had to lay her down. The bike was totaled and he had a broken leg which he said was now in good enough shape that he could start riding again. I then asked him if he had ever taken any rider training courses. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, I ve been riding 20 years, that s enough training for me. I then watched him as he duck-walked his bike around a u-turn, a Greyhound bus could have easily made, and then saw him drag his feet about 100 yards through the parking lot and out onto the highway. It made me think of something a MSF Instructor recently told me. He said he teaches the MSF Experienced Rider Course and that he sees a lot of people who think they are good riders because they ve been riding 20 or 30 years. The instructor said what they really have is one year s experience repeated 20 or 30 times. That made a lot of sense. In other words, a rider gets to a certain level and then never improves any further, but instead, keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Now, if you re driving a car, you can get away with a lot of mistakes for a lot of years before it catches up with you. On a bike, there s usually no such thing as a little fender bender. In almost every crash on a motorcycle, you re going to get hurt or even killed and your bike is going to be a mess, if not a total wreck. The point is, don t fool yourself into thinking you know what you re doing just because you ve been riding for a lot of years. Look at it this way. If experience was all you need to be a good driver, then that 80-year-old guy blocking the left lane on the highway with 60 years of driving under his belt should be able to easily win the Daytona 500 should he choose to since he has far more experience than most of those young whipper-snappers in NASCAR, right? Of course not! Those young experienced NASCAR drivers have received the best training available and constantly practice and improve their skills. Now, the old guy with all the experience, like you, the experienced rider, can cruise on down the road just fine, until something unexpected happens. Then, all he and you can do is jam on the brakes and hope for the best. The highly trained driver or rider can rely on his skills and training and probably can avoid the crash altogether instead of laying her down, (in other words, crashing to avoid the crash). Now, it s true, you can t avoid every crash, but it sure would be nice to avoid most of them. All it takes is a little practice using the proper techniques. Motor Man (This article has been copied from an unknown magazine) NEW MEMBERS Please welcome the following new members: Leslie Felsk, Matt Felsk, Bob Israel, Jim Kuhr, Alan Olson, Trevin Quillin, Michael Sepka and Donald Wells! JUNE ACTIVITY PINS RICH BAESCH, VICKI BEAM, RICK COLE SUZANNE JARBOE, SHERRY JONES, LEW KIRCHNER, AL VANDERMEULIN, LORI VANDERMEULIN, JEANETTE SHERMAN CONGRATS!

8 Page 8 PROGRESSIVE DINNER RIDE A HUGE SUCCESS!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO OUR HOSTS, KEN AND LYNN BREHLER, PAUL AND SUZANNE JARBOE, MIKE O CONNOR AND SHERRY JONES, AND RICH AND TARA BAESCH! The group lined up in front of the Jarboe s headed to the main course at the O Connors. John Emanuel and Terry Coates enjoying the salad! The street becomes the parking lot! Young riders pick a destination and go! Old riders pick a direction and go! CLASSIC LEGEND TIMES

9 SPONSORING DEALER: CLASSIC MOTOR SPORTS Don and Nancy Pishney Chapter Address: 3939 S. Blue Star Drive Traverse City, MI Phone: Fax: NORTHERN CHAPTER H.O.G. JUNE BIRTHDAYS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE & ALL! VICKI ROSSEELS 6/3 JESSICA ZIONSKOWSKI 6/3 FREDERICK NELSON 6/3 JIM MUNSON 6/6 JAMES KAVALAR 6/8 JIM KUHR 6/14 SHERRY PURKISS 6/20 CHRIS O CONNOR 6/23 MATT FELSK 6/23 AL CROCKER 6/27 KIM LEFLER 6/27 STEVE SZASZ 6/29 Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle! APRIL CHAPTER MEETING WINNERS 50/50 Drawing Lynn Brehler & Steve Purkiss Classic Gift Certificate Deb Ockert CONGRATULATIONS! ROAD CAPTAINS The following is a list of your Road Captains. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give them a call. Brian Zionskowski, Head Road Captain (toomanytoys@hotmail.com) Jim Beam Rick Cole (ridestheglide@charter.net) Jim Dow Eric Fischer (eric@classictc.com) Chuck Gannon Claude Gersky (glane@centurytel.net) Jim Johnson (jjjjlj@voyager.net) Lew Kirchner (lgkirchner@aol.com) John Lefler (heavyroller2002@yahoo.com) Kim Lefler (heavyroller2002@yahoo.com) Mike O Connor (mtoc7154@charter.net) Kevin Rierson (jkrierson@chartermi.net) Greg Sherman (gdsherman@centurytel.net) Steve Szasz (sszasz2005@yahoo.com) Tom Whilden (tcwilde@aol.com) - Safety Officer We re on the web! DIRECTOR S NOTES (Continued) ENTERTAINMENT Montgomery Gentry: Join this hard-rocking, Harleyriding, award-winning country duo for an unforgettable evening of country music and fun on the Harley stage Friday night at 8:15. Big Head Todd & the Monsters: A fixture on the national music scene since 1992, this laid-back, slightly jazzy, blues-based rock band will keep the crowd jumping at the Harley stage at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon. Cowboy Mouth: Always a fan favorite, this legendary New Orleans party band is best-known for its amazing live performances. Don t miss this one at the Miller Tennessee Tap Stage at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon. AND... The Dempseys, DB Bryant, Dixie Werewolves, Sundance & the Roughriders, The Sonny Moorman Group, and The Drew Davis Band. For more information including a listing of exciting dealersponsored events or to preregister online, log on to members.hog.com. Paul Jarboe, Director, Northern Chapter HOG